Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic just messed with everyone's expectation of what is normal: Milos Raonic

Milos Raonic reckons Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have messed up fans' expectations of what's normal by winning as much as they did during their prime days.

The former World No. 3 fell in the third round of the 2023 Canadian Open on Thursday, losing 6-3, 6-3 to Mackenzie McDonald. At his press conference, the Canadian was asked if he feels that the level of men's tennis is better than what it was a few years ago, as players outside the top 50 can now stun top seeds at tournaments more frequently.

Raonic, in fact, felt that was not indeed the case. The 32-year-old brought up Federer, Nadal and Djokovic to prove his point, emphasizing how the trio would all be in the semifinals of Masters 1000 events or Grand Slams all the time.

"I think just three guys, to have three exemplary kind of legendary athletes in one sport, not even in one generation, period, but in one sport at the same time, you kind of messed with everybody's expectation (or recalibration) of what is normal, right?" Milos Raonic said.

"If you look back at a lot of tournaments, yeah, you would have the three of them playing. Obviously, I'm talking, like, when all the three guys were taking Masters series seriously. I think, you know, we've kind of forgotten a little bit now because it's been kind of just a pure focus on Grand Slams for them for the last couple years," he added.

The Big 3, along with Andy Murray and David Ferrer at times, distracted from the fact that players other than them were just as prone to lose early as they do today, asserted Raonic.

The World No. 545 wants fans to understand that higher seeds have always been at risk of losing to those outside the top 50, meaning that it's not a new phenomenon in the sport.

"When I was first on tour, it was pretty much them and Andy. Pretty much, I would say, 60%, 70% of the semifinals were them. And maybe when it came to clay, David Ferrer was kind of the guy changing things up a little bit," Milos Raonic said.

"So, yeah, you had three guys that were there all the time and winning most of the events. But I think you were still seeing the same kind of thing, the rotation of guys from 16 to 5 in the world, let's say, that were kind of maybe losing early in events. You know, they weren't -- like, it's not like every week the top eight seeds were all in the quarters; right? So it's quite different," he added.

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"It's kind of like what tennis was when Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras were aging out a little bit" - Milos Raonic

Milos Raonic, National Bank Open Toronto - Day 4

Milos Raonic also opined that tennis was a bit different before Roger Federer arrived on the scene in the early 2000s.

He feels the current era is going to be similar to that again, like what it was when Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras were nearing the end of their career.

"Tennis was quite different before Roger came around. And then, you know, I think it's just this kind of next period is probably what tennis -- obviously, Novak is still around, and he's still going to be very involved in later stages of Grand Slams," Milos Raonic said.

"But I think it's kind of like what tennis was when Andre and Sampras were kind of aging out a little bit; right? You have a lot of different players that will win slams. And if you look at history and you just look at the trend, there's many players with one or two. And then, you know, the higher up you go with the numbers, the quantity of players there drops off," he added.

Now that his Canadian Open campaign has come to an end, the former World No. 3 will move on to the Cincinnati Open, where he will use his protected ranking.